Noah at Unam Sanctam Catholicam has an interesting and edifying post up regarding the great, mystical benefits of the Brown Scapular given by Our Lady of Mount Carmel to Saint Simon Stock. As Noah notes, there remains in the Church among some priests and certain laity a kind of opposition to the Scapular. I myself have experienced this. When I was first converting, the first really on fire, semi-orthodox priest I found that really reached out to me was a charismatic Catholic. Under the influence of his demi-protestant version of Catholicism, he did not have much devotion to the Blessed Mother. He was, in fact, rather embarrassed by devotion to the only perfect pure-human who has ever lived. He had Rosary beads on his Franciscan habit, but would pray them by saying “Jesus” over and over, and that’s it. When I spoke to him about devotion to the Blessed Mother, he said it wasn’t really “helpful,” and that the Church was “moving in another direction.”

From the standpoint of the current crisis, a certain opposition to the glorification of Our Lady and Her prerogatives played a large role in the controversies during and after Vatican II. There was a very substantial fight during the Council between the forces who wanted to honor Our Lady with her own document and name Her Mediatrix of All Grace, and those who wanted to take a more minimal stance. Well, guess who won? The document on The Blessed Mother got rolled into Lumen Gentium, she wasn’t formally defined as Mediatrix of All Grace, but She was named as such in the document.

There has since the Council continued to be a faction of the Church that retains a certain ambivalence towards the Blessed Mother. A large part of this ambivalence can be traced to the creeping influence of protestantism in the Church through the ecumenical and charismatic movements. This is an enormous tragedy, for in a strong sense we have no greater advocate, and no greater friend, in Heaven than She. Of course, all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are as far above Our Lady as the stars are from the earth, and remain the sole object of worship for all faithful souls, but St. Alphonsus, St. Thomas Aquinas, and many other Saints have proved that having a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother is at least morally necessary for salvation, if not absolutely so. Because Mary is the path to the Son.

To get to the point of the post, I wish I could assist Noah in compiling miracles associated with the Brown Scapular, but I do not recall any direct experience of such. I do believe the Green Scapular played a big role in getting me clean, but that’s a slightly different story. My devotion to the Blessed Mother has grown immensely over the years, and I feel I have a close relationship with Her. She is a great friend and helper.

Now, some content from the post, including the great benefits of the Scapular [I add comments]:

I must say that their are seldom found defenders of this great sacramental from the charge of superstition.[Has that been your experience. Among traditional priests, such weak defense of Our Lady has been rare, in my experience. With other priests…….it’s quite variable.] There are so called “friends” of the scapular who give it only faint praise, who fall over themselves in their effort to downplay the promise of the brown scapular by pointing out that the scapular only works if you are not in mortal sin. These statements injure the faith and confidence one can have in the brown scapular and injure its propagation.

Lets us first consider a few things about the brown scapular.

1. It is a sign of devotion and consecration to the Mother of God.

2. It is ancient, going back at least 800 years and if you accept the annals of the order of Mt Carmel their devotion to Mary extends back to her even while she still walked the earth.

3. It has received numerous blessings from the Church.

4. Many Saints of the Church have worn it and recommended its use.

5. Many miracles of the brown scapular are historical facts, attested to by numerous witnesses and they have occurred without ceasing since the institution of the confraternity of the brown scapular. [All true, and more than good enough reasons for me!]

These should be reason enough for everyone to want to participate in the devotion to the brown scapular by devoutly wearing it even if it did not have the promise, that anyone who died wearing the brown scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.

What are some of its benefits, excluding the promise of salvation and the special protection of Mary.

1. It is an act of religion when one wears it for the sake of devotion to the Mother of God.

2. It is an act of humility to the Church and her Saints that recommended its use to grow in grace.

3. It is an outward sign of devotion to the Mother of God.

4. The Church has decreed that the devout use of a devotional object merits a partial indulgence.

5. Its wearing is a constant reminder of the presence of God and our childlike intimacy with Mary.

These repeated acts help us grown in virtue, honoring the Virgin Mary in front of men will lead to God honoring us in front of men, the partialindulgences help alleviate the sufferings of the holy soul or pay our debt due to sin and the reminder of Gods presence deters us from committing sin. Even if people choose to be doubters of the great promise of salvation of the brown scapular, they cannot deny these facts.

You will find among the numerous stories of the brown scapular not stories of canonized Saints, but stories of sinners, often times people who lived very evil lives, but through the power of the brown scapular were either saved from unexpected deaths or given the grace of repentance.[The efficacy of wearing the Brown Scapular has been attested to by hundreds, probably thousands of testimonies. There have been truly great conversions and miracles of salvation associated with this devotion. Check out the link, it has some great material!]

It would be superstitious to believe that the cloth in and of itself will save one from hell. It would be presumptuous to believe that one will be allowed to die wearing the brown scapular. But, it is neither superstition or presumption to put ones confidence and hope in Our Lady of the Brown Scapular even when one is in mortal sin, even when one is living a reprobate life. When we sin against charity we may lose sanctifying grace, but we do not necessarily lose the theological virtue of hope. Dearest reader, no matter what sin or sins you find yourself committing, never ever take off your brown scapular…… [I agree. And I also recommend the scapulars of green, blue, red……]

…….In anticipation for the next feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel we are hoping to receive enough user submissions of miraculous stories of the brown scapular from readers in order to put together a new Audiobook of miracles of the Brown Scapular in modern times. To strengthen peoples confidence in the brown scapular and to confound its enemies. It is a great opportunity to help induce others to love and reverence our Lady of Mt Carmel. I most earnestly implore you to submit your stories, to share this plea, and if you are a blogger to please also consider sharing this post on your blog so that we are able to collect enough stories to make another Audiobook to the Glory of God and Our Lady of Mt Carmel.

Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Thou has promise St Simon Stock that anyone who died wearing thy brown scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. Grant then me the grace to die wearing it, and protect me at the hour of my death with the last sacraments. O Mother, pray for me that when I go before the judgement seat of God that your merits might be applied to the penalty due to my sins and that I escape the punishments of purgatory. Amen.

———–End Quote———-

Great stuff. If you do have personal testimonies or stories to share regarding the Brown Scapular, it would be a great work of mercy to me if you would share them here, as well!

The below just goes to show you can’t trust a pro-abort. People who kill for a living are unlikely to bat an eye over a “little” thing like lying to someone’s face. I say that because some time ago, I had a conversation with an area abortion mill worker who told me most of the mills would be closing when the state’s ambulatory surgery requirements went into effect. This individual told me directly that Planned Barrenhood would be closing their mill and leaving only their Fort Worth abattoir open. They also said almost every other mill would close, too.

Well, either that was just bold-faced lying or it plans have changed, but shrill Cecile Richards was in town recently to tell us how wonderful it is that PB will be open a new megamill in South Dallas soon (they will close their other mill on Greenville Ave):

Planned Parenthood will open a new abortion clinic in Dallas in August that meets the structural standards of
an ambulatory surgical center, as required by the state’s new law.

In September, all abortion clinics will have to meet the structural requirments — such as specific room and doorway sizes, air sterilization systems, backup generators, blood supplies and male and female locker rooms.

Including the new Dallas clinic, seven of the 21 abortion clinics operating in the state meet the requirements.

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of several abortion providers in Texas challenging the structural requirements.

Planned Parenthood purchased and renovated an existing surgical center with donations from the Building our Futures Fund.

“Our board and some of our donors and supporters put together a campaign to meet the needs of our patients over the coming years,” said Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas spokeswoman Sarah Wheat. Aside from funding the new clinic, the donations will go towards patient assistance and renovating family planning clinics in North Texas.

All abortion procedures will be transferred to the new facility beginning in August.

Some of the other mills – Robinson’s, Routh Street – are incapable of meeting the new requirements in their present locations, which are little more than hovels. The pro-abort I spoke with indicated they would close, but Robinson has given no indication he plans to quit. Maybe he’ll move to Planned Barrenhood. This new facility will be large enough to have several killing rooms.

Planned Parenthood faces a legal challenge in Colorado after Cary Smith, of Federal Heights, discovered that clinic staff failed to inquire or report about suspected sexual abuse of her thirteen-year-old daughter after giving her an abortion……

…….Throughout the visit, four staff members spoke with and observed R.Z. and her step-father. All of them had opportunity to see that R.Z.’s birth date indicated she was only thirteen—well below the age of consent. Yet, none of them asked R.Z. about their relationship. None of them asked why their last names were different. None of them asked about potential sex abuse. And none of them reported anything to the state

After the abortion, R.Z. walked back out to the parking lot, got into her step-father’s car, and went back home. And the abuse continued…….[What an unmitigated nightmare. This child was abused by her step-father. I read somewhere that rates of abuse by step-fathers are much higher than those of biological fathers. Another wonderful result of no-fault divorce.]

……The first medical professionals who had seen R.Z.—the four Planned Parenthood staff members—must have known that her daughter was a potential victim of sexual abuse. These were professionals who had the information to do something. They had opportunity to ask R.Z. before her mother even knew.

And they had the responsibility to act—to report suspected child sex abuse—under Colorado law.

But these professionals did nothing. Worse, they performed a dangerous, legally-restricted procedure on a minor child, without informing her mother, and turned R.Z. back over to her rapist following the abortion.

At Planned Parenthood, they don’t want to know how old girls are. They don’t want to know how old their partners are. They do everything they can to remain deliberately ignorant so they can avoid the mandatory reporter laws. They do all they can, in essence, to allow the abuse to continue, even if they know it is rape.

And as former Kansas Attorney Phil Kline and the Live Action crew have found out, this attitude is systematic within Planned Parenthood.

Yet they remain one of the most sacred allies of the demonrat party. Catholics don’t need to know anything else to know that voting democrat is gravely immoral.

Someone posited to me that the bishops should make clear that voting democrat is an act that incurs automatic excommunication. I’m sure that would go over real well at the secret sessions of the USCCB! But it’s an interesting thought. I think it could be argued that the democrat party has become so thoroughly committed to advancing evil in the last few years that voting for a democrat candidate, even one that pretends to be pro-life, is tantamount to a rejection of the Faith and grounds for excommunication. What do you think?

Not that the Repubniks are any great shakes. They have their own massive problems, like loving usury and being far more “Christian” in word than in deed.

Would you, in your charity, pray for the repose of the soul of Jaime Leano? A couple years back I tried to help him get a job at my company but we were not hiring (in fact, since then, we’ve had 8 rounds of layoffs). I think he had a hard time finding work. He passed away very suddenly early Monday morning. His Requiem Mass will be at Mater Dei at 6:30 pm tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) night.

I found the following a long time ago, but I don’t think I’ve ever posted it. It’s almost sort of an inside joke. The pointy plane on the right, refueling the rounder plane on the LEFT, is an F-18F Super Hornet. It has a much shorter range than the plane on the left, the EA-6B Prowler electronic countermeasures (ECM) aircraft. Descended from the long range (for a carrier aircraft) A-6 Intruder medium/attack plane, the Prowler generally has a lot of gas for most missions.

I don’t know who says that, but they’re wrong

The F-18 series……not so much. The F-18 came online in the early 80s to replace both the F-4 Phantom II as a fighter and the A-7 Corsair II as a light attack aircraft. Definitely a better fighter in most scenarios than the F-4, and in some respects a better attack aircraft than the A-7, it looked like win-win. But, the F-18 always had one huge shortcoming – really short legs. It never had the range of either aircraft it replaced. It needed a ton of tanker support. Throughout the 80s and most of the 90s, that was no problem, as the Navy retained very capable KA-6D tankers (another version of the long range A-6) in the carrier air wings.

Unfortunately, US Navy tactical aviation came close to imploding in the 90s. They had great plans in the late 80s to revitalize the fleet, replacing the A-6 with a very stealthy attack aircraft, the A-12. But then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, in one of a series of still very controversial moves (the lawsuit is still in the courts, a quarter century later), cancelled the A-12 in 1991 claiming cost overruns. In reality, he had been given the job of finding a post-Cold War ‘peace dividend’ and was looking for scapegoats. The A-12 fit the bill (he also tried to kill the V-22 Osprey, mostly desired by the Marines, but was overcome by opposition, which shows the enormous political clout of the Marines).

At the same time, Cheney killed new versions of the F-14 Tomcat that the Navy was already building, and a much improved version of the A-6 with a composite wing called the A-6F. He also nixed a Navy version of the F-22. The admirals, who a few months before had a very clear and funded recapitalization program for their air wings, were now faced with chaos.

They cast around trying to find an aircraft that would be cheap enough to buy in bulk under the new, much reduced defense budget, and capable enough to at least somewhat realistically replace all these cancelled types. The only alternative was the F-18, which McDonnell Douglas enlarged, put in more powerful engines, and updated avionics. This was the F-18E/F “Super” Hornet.

Two seat F-18F left, single seat F-18E right

Unfortunately, the endemic problems with the Hornet remained. Even though it was increased in size about 20%, and fuel load went up nearly 40%, the more powerful engines ate up most of the increase, and the Super wound up with only a slight increase in range over “legacy” Hornets. With continuing dwindling acquisition budgets throughout the 90s and 00s, the Navy chose to retire many specialist types like the A-6, the KA-6D tanker, the S-3 Viking anti-submarine aircraft (which also had long range and could serve as a tanker), and the F-14. So carrier flight decks today consist of F-18s and a few support aircraft. The Super Hornet, even with its short range, has had to be pressed into the tanker role, as well, even though on many missions the tankers can only transfer a very limited amount of fuel.

To make matters even worse, another claim to fame for the Super Hornet was that it had more stores pylons under the wings, and could thus (notionally) carry a large load than the “legacy” Hornet. This was seen as vital by the Navy in order to give the Super some credibility in replacing the heavy-load carrying A-6. But a little problem developed in testing. McDonnell, to meet the Navy’s requirements, had to place the stores pylons close together, and during weapons separation tests, it was found ordinance from one pylon could crash into another. Ooops. Now, the sensible thing to do would have been to reduce the number of pylons and spread them out, eliminating the problem, but the Navy just couldn’t accept that, so they had the pylons angled out at about 3 degrees to improve separation. That left ordinance turned sort of sideways to the airflow, greatly increasing drag and further decreasing range. So, with a heavy load, the Super Hornet often has a shorter range than the “legacy” types! It also winds up being very slow, with many typical loads it is barely able to exceed 500 kts in full afterburner.

Angled pylons

And so that’s the joke……it is perverse that a short range, fuel-limited strike aircraft would be refueling a long-range ECM aircraft. But that is the boat the Navy finds itself in, at least until the F-35C carrier version comes along, if it ever does. The massive shortcomings in the F35’s design would be a whole ‘nuther, and far longer, post. I pray the military has learned the F-111 lesson once and for all, now, and especially now knows that saddling a design with STOVL requirements will always lead to (comparatively) poor performance.

Feast on the 26th. Start tomorrow to finish on Vigil, or on Friday to finish on Feast. There is a St. Anne Shrine in Chicago offering its 115th consecutive St. Anne Novena – they pray July 18-26. Join them if you wish! As with so many Novenas I post, thanks to MJD for sending this out.

Glorious Saint Anne, filled with compassion for those who invoke you and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at your feet and humbly beg of you to take the present affair which I recommend to you under your special protection (here pause and pray for your intention or intentions-all that are close to your heart)

Vouchsafe to recommend to your Daughter, The Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy issue. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, that with you and Mary and all the Saints, I may praise and bless Him for all eternity. AMEN

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Queen of angels and saints, Pray for us. Saint Anne, Pray for us. St. Anne, mother of Mary the Queen of Heaven, Pray for us. St. Anne, instrument of the Holy Ghost, Pray for us. St. Anne, faithful spouse of St. Joachim, Pray for us. St. Anne, mirror of the married, Pray for us. St. Anne, example of widows, Pray for us. St. Anne, miracle of patience, Pray for us. St. Anne, mother of confidence, Pray for us. St. Anne, mother of constancy, Pray for us. St. Anne, mother of prayer, Pray for us. St. Anne, mother of blessing, Pray for us. St. Anne, vessel of sanctity, Pray for us. St. Anne, merciful mother, Pray for us. St. Anne, comfortress of the afflicted, Pray for us. St. Anne, help of the poor, Pray for us. St. Anne, protectress of virgins, Pray for us. St. Anne, support of the oppressed, Pray for us. St. Anne, refuge of thy clients, Pray for us.

We sinners: Beseech thee to hear us.

Through thy love for Jesus and Mary, We beseech thee, hear us. Through thy virtues and merits, We beseech thee, hear us. Through thy goodness and mercy, We beseech thee, hear us. Through thy compassion and charity, We beseech thee, hear us. Through the graces bestowed on thee by God, We beseech thee, hear us. Through the joys thou didst experience with Jesus and Mary, We beseech thee, hear us. Through the happiness thou dust enjoy for all eternity, We beseech thee, hear us. Through the honor given thee by the saints in heaven, We beseech thee, hear us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.

Our Father (secretly). Hail, Mary (secretly).

V. Good Saint Anne, pray for us: R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, Who didst vouchsafe to blessed Anne the grace to be the mother of her who was to bring forth Thine only-begotten Son: grant, in Thy mercy, that we who devoutly venerate her memory may be aided by her intercession. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. AMEN.